Downflows with high velocities occur in the transition region above many sunspots; however, how these signatures evolve over short time-scales in both spatial and spectral terms is still unknown. In this article, we investigate the evolution of downflows detected within the transition region on time-scales of the order minutes and search for clues as to their formation mechanisms in co-temporal imaging data. The high-resolution spectral and imaging data used to identify downflows here were sampled by IRIS on the 20th and 21st May 2015. Imaging data from the Hinode and SDO satellites provided context about the wider solar atmosphere. Four downflows were identified and analysed. The potential super-sonic components of these downflows had widths of around 2" and evolved over time-scales of the order minutes. The measured apparent downflow velocities were structured both in time and space, with the highest apparent velocities occurring above a bright region detected in Si IV 1400 Å images. Downflows with apparent velocities below 50 km s^{-1} were observed to extend a few arcsecs away from the foot-points suggesting the potential super-sonic components are linked to larger-scale flows. The electron density and mass flux for these events were within the ranges 10^{9.6}-10^{10.2} cm^{-3} and 10^{-6.81}-10^{-7.48} g cm^{-2} s^{-1}, respectively. Each downflow formed at the foot-point of thin `fingers' extending out around 3-5" in Si IV 1400 Å data with smaller widths (<1") than the super-sonic downflows. Downflows can appear, disappear, and recur within time-scales of less than one hour in sunspots. As potential super-sonic downflow signatures were detected at the foot-points of both extended fingers in Si IV 1400 Å SJI data and sub-sonic downflows in Si IV 1394 Å spectra, it is likely that these events are linked to flows within structures such as coronal loops.
Downflows at supersonic speeds have been observed in the transition region (TR) above sunspots for more than three decades. These downflows are often seen in different TR spectral lines above sunspots. We have performed a statistical investigation of these downflows using a large sample which was missing earlier. The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) has provided a wealth of observational data of sunspots at high spatial and spectral resolution in the past few years. We have identified sixty datasets obtained with IRIS raster scans. Using an automated code, we identified the locatio…
High resolution spectropolarimetric observations of 3 sunspots taken with Hinode demonstrate the existence of supersonic downflows at or close to the umbra-penumbra boundary which have not been reported before. These downflows are confined to large patches, usually encompassing bright penumbral filaments, and have lifetimes of more than 14 hr. The presence of strong downflows in the center-side penumbra near the umbra rules out an association with the Evershed flow. Chromospheric filtergrams acquired close to the time of the spectropolarimetric measurements show large, strong, and long-lived b…
We report three-minute oscillations in the solar chromosphere driven by a strong downflow event in a sunspot. We used the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph of the 1.6 m New Solar Telescope and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). The strong downflow event is identified in the chromospheric and transition region lines above the sunspot umbra. After the event, oscillations occur at the same region. The amplitude of the Doppler velocity oscillations is 2 km/s, and gradually decreases with time. In addition, the period of the oscillations gradually increases from 2.7 minutes to 3.3 minu…
We report the discovery of supersonic downflows in a sunspot light bridge using measurements taken with the spectropolarimeter on board the Hinode satellite. The downflows occur in small patches close to regions where the vector magnetic field changes orientation rapidly, and are associated with anomalous circular polarization profiles. An inversion of the observed Stokes spectra reveals velocities of up to 10 km/s, making them the strongest photospheric flows ever measured in light bridges. Some (but not all) of the downflowing patches are cospatial and cotemporal with brightness enhancements…
Recent high resolution spectropolarimetric observations from Hinode detected the presence of supersonic downflows in a sunspot light bridge (Louis et al. 2009). These downflows occurred in localized patches, close to regions where the field azimuth changed by a large value. This apparent discontinuity in the field azimuth was seen along a thin ridge running along the western edge of the light bridge. Some, but not all, of these downflowing patches were co-spatial with chromospheric brightness enhancements seen in Ca II H filtergrams. The presence of magnetic inhomogeneities at scales of 0.3 ar…
High resolution spectropolarimetric observations by Hinode reveal the existence of supersonic downflows at the umbra-penumbra boundary of 3 sunspots that was recently reported by Louis et al. (2010). These downflows are observed to be co-spatial with bright penumbral filaments and occupy an area greater than 1.6 arcsec$^2$. They are located at the center-side penumbra and have the same polarity as the sunspot which suggests that they are not associated with the Evershed Flow. In this paper we describe the supersonic velocities observed in NOAA AR 10923 and discuss the photospheric as well as c…
Sunspot penumbrae show high-velocity patches along the periphery. The high-velocity downflow patches are believed to be the return channels of the Evershed flow. We aim to investigate their structure in detail using Hinode SOT/SP observations. We employ Fourier interpolation in combination with spatially coupled height dependent LTE inversions of Stokes profiles to produce high-resolution, height-dependent maps of atmospheric parameters of these downflows and investigate their properties. High-speed downflows are observed over a wide range of viewing angles. They have supersonic line-of-sight …
Super-sonic downflows have been observed in transition region spectra above numerous sunspots; however, little research has been conducted to date into how persistent these signatures are within sunspots on time-scales longer than a few hours. Here, we analyse the lead sunspot of AR 12526 to infer the properties and evolution of super-sonic downflows occurring within it. Sixteen large, dense raster scans sampled by IRIS are analysed. These rasters tracked the lead sunspot of AR 12526 at discrete times between the 27th March 2016 and the 2nd April 2016. One sit-and-stare observation acquired on…
We report spectropolarimetric observations of a supersonic downflow impacting the lower atmosphere within a large sunspot umbra. This work is an extension of Schad et al. 2016 using observations acquired in the He I 10830 Angstrom triplet by the Facility Infrared Spectropolarimeter. Downflowing material accelerating along a cooled coronal loop reaches peak speeds near 200 km s$^{-1}$ and exhibits both high speed emission and absorption within the umbra, which we determine to be a consequence of the strong height dependence of the radiatively-controlled source function above the sunspot umbra. …
A sunspot penumbra is observationally examined to reveal properties of small-scale flow structures and how they are related to the filamentary magnetic structures and the Evershed flow. We also study how the photospheric dynamics is related to chromospheric activities. The study is based on data analysis of spectro-polarimetric observations of photospheric Fe I lines with the Solar Optical Telescope aboard Hinode in a sunspot penumbra at different heliocentric angles. Vector magnetic fields and velocities are derived using the spectro-polarimetric data and a Stokes inversion technique. An obse…
Recent numerical simulations and observations of sunspots show a significant amount of opposite polarity magnetic field within the sunspot penumbra. Most of the opposite polarity field is associated with convective downflows. We present an analysis of 3D MHD simulations through forward modeling of synthetic Stokes profiles of the Fe\sci 6301.5 Å~ and Fe\sci 6302.5 Å~ lines). The synthetic Stokes profiles are spatially and spectrally degraded considering typical instrument properties. Line bisector shifts of the Fe\sci 6301.5 Å~ line are used to determine line-of-sight velocities. Far wing magn…
We study the velocity structure of penumbral filaments in the deep photosphere to obtain direct evidence for the convective nature of sunspot penumbrae. A sunspot was observed at high spatial resolution with the 1-m Swedish Solar Telescope in the deep photospheric C I 5380 Å absorption line. The Multi-Object Multi-Frame Blind Deconvolution (MOMFBD) method is used for image restoration and straylight is filtered out. We report here the discovery of clear redshifts in the C I 5380 Å line at multiple locations in sunspot penumbral filaments. For example, bright head of filaments show larger conce…
We study the temporal evolution of downflows observed at the lateral edges of penumbral filaments in a sunspot located very close to the disk center. Our analysis is based on a sequence of nearly diffraction-limited scans of the Fe I 617.3 nm line taken with the CRisp Imaging Spectro-Polarimeter at the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope. We compute Dopplergrams from the observed intensity profiles using line bisectors and filter the resulting velocity maps for subsonic oscillations. Lateral downflows appear everywhere in the center-side penumbra as small, weak patches of redshifts next to or along th…
We investigate a small-scale ($\approx$ 1.5 Mm along the slit), supersonic downflow of about 90 km s$^{-1}$ in the transition region above the light-bridged sunspot umbra in AR 11836. The observations were obtained with the Interface Region Spectrograph (IRIS) on 2013 September 2, from 16:40 to 17:59 UT. The downflow shows up as red-shifted "satellite" lines of the Si IV and O IV transition region lines and is remarkably steady over the observing period of nearly 80 min. The downflow is not visible in the chromospheric lines, which only show an intensity enhancement at the location of the down…
We study the velocity field of umbral dots at a resolution of 0.14". Our analysis is based on full Stokes spectropolarimetric measurements of a pore taken with the CRISP instrument at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. We determine the flow velocity at different heights in the photosphere from a bisector analysis of the Fe I 630 nm lines. In addtion, we use the observed Stokes Q, U, and V profiles to characterize the magnetic properties of these structures. We find that most umbral dots are associated with strong upflows in deep photospheric layers. Some of them also show concentrated patches of…
We investigate subsurface moat flow system around symmetrical sunspots of McIntosh type H and compare it to the flow system within supergranular cells. Representatives of both types of flows are constructed by means of statistical averaging of flow maps obtained by time--distance helioseismic inversions. We find that moat flows around H-type sunspots replace the supergranular flows but there are two principal differences between the two phenomena: The moat flow is asymmetrical, probably due to proper motion of sunspots with respect to the local frame of rest, while the flow in the supergranula…
Plasma loops or plumes rooted in sunspot umbrae often harbor downflows with speeds of 100 km/s. These downflows are supersonic at transition region temperatures of 0.1 MK. The source of these flows is not well understood. We aim to investigate the source of sunspot supersonic downflows (SSDs) in AR 12740 using simultaneous spectroscopic and imaging observations. We identified SSD events from multiple raster scans of a sunspot by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, and calculated the electron densities, mass fluxes and velocities of these SSDs. The EUV images provided by the AIA onboard …
We perform NLTE inversions in a large set of umbral flashes, including the dark fibrils visible within them, and in the quiescent umbra by using the inversion code NICOLE on a set of full Stokes high-resolution Ca II 8542 A observations of a sunspot at disk center. We find that the dark structures have Stokes profiles that are distinct from those of the quiescent and flashed regions. They are best reproduced by atmospheres that are more similar to the flashed atmosphere in terms of velocities, even if with reduced amplitudes. We also find two sets of solutions that finely fit the flashed profi…
We present a series of high-resolution sunspot simulations that cover a time span of up to 100 hours. The simulation domain extends about 18 Mm in depth beneath the photosphere and 98 Mm horizontally. We use open boundary conditions that do not maintain the initial field structure against decay driven by convective motions. We consider two setups: A sunspot simulation with penumbra, and a "naked-spot" simulation in which we removed the penumbra after 20 hours through a change in the magnetic top boundary condition. While the sunspot has an Evershed outflow of 3-4 km/s, the naked spot is surrou…
IRIS data allow us to study the solar transition region (TR) with an unprecedented spatial resolution of 0.33 arcsec. On 2013 August 30, we observed bursts of high Doppler shifts suggesting strong supersonic downflows of up to 200 km/s and weaker, slightly slower upflows in the spectral lines Mg II h and k, C II 1336 Å, Si IV 1394 Å, and 1403 Å, that are correlated with brightenings in the slitjaw images (SJIs). The bursty behavior lasts throughout the 2 hr observation, with average burst durations of about 20 s. The locations of these short-lived events appear to be the umbral and penumbral f…
We discuss NICOLE inversions of Fe I 630.15 nm and 630.25 nm Stokes spectra from a sunspot penumbra recorded with the CRISP imaging spectropolarimeter on the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope at a spatial resolution close to 0.15". We report on narrow radially extended lanes of opposite polarity field, located at the boundaries between areas of relatively horizontal magnetic field (the intra-spines) and much more vertical field (the spines). These lanes harbor convective downflows of about 1 km/s. The locations of these downflows close to the spines agree with predictions from the convective gap mod…
Light bridges are the most prominent manifestation of convection in sunspots. The brightest representatives are granular light bridges composed of features that appear to be similar to granules. An in-depth study of the convective motions, temperature stratification, and magnetic field vector in and around light bridge granules is presented with the aim of identifying similarities and differences to typical quiet-Sun granules. Spectropolarimetric data from the Hinode Solar Optical Telescope were analyzed using a spatially coupled inversion technique to retrieve the stratified atmospheric param…
Context. Recent discoveries of intensity correlated downflows in the interior of a sunspot penumbra provide direct evidence for overturning convection, adding to earlier strong indications of convection from filament dynamics observed far from solar disk center, and supporting recent simulations of sunspots. Aims. Using spectropolarimetric observations obtained at a spatial resolution approaching 0'.'1 with the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) and its spectropolarimeter CRISP, we investigate whether the convective downflows recently discovered in the C i line at 538.03 nm can also be detected…
Aims: We search for penumbral magnetic fields of opposite polarity and for their correspondence with downflows. Methods: We used spectropolarimetric HINODE data of a spot very close to disk center to suppress the horizontal velocity components as much as possible. We focus our study on 3-lobe Stokes V profiles. Results: From forward modeling and inversions, we show that 3-lobe profiles testify to the presence of opposite magnetic fields. They occur predominately in the mid and outer penumbra and are associated with downflows in the deep layers of the photosphere. Conclusions. Standard magnetog…
We study supersonic Evershed downflows in a sunspot penumbra by means of high spatial resolution spectropolarimetric data acquired in the Fe I 617.3 nm line with the CRISP instrument at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. Physical observables, such as Dopplergrams calculated from line bisectors and Stokes V zero-crossing wavelengths, and Stokes V maps in the far red wing, are used to find regions where supersonic Evershed downflows may exist. We retrieve the LOS velocity and the magnetic field vector in these regions using two-component inversions of the observed Stokes profiles with the help of …
Recently, there have been some reports of unusually strong photospheric magnetic fields (which can reach values of over 7 kG) inferred from Hinode SOT/SP sunspot observations within penumbral regions. These superstrong penumbral fields are even larger than the strongest umbral fields on record and appear to be associated with supersonic downflows. The finding of such fields has been controversial since they seem to show up only when spatially coupled inversions are performed. Here, we investigate and discuss the reliability of those findings by studying in detail observed spectra associated wi…
Extreme UV (EUV) and X-ray loops in the solar corona connect regions of enhanced magnetic activity, but they are not usually rooted in the dark umbrae of sunspots because the strong magnetic field found there suppresses convection. This means that the Poynting flux of magnetic energy into the upper atmosphere is not significant within the umbra as long as there are no light bridges or umbral dots. Here we report a rare observation of a coronal loop rooted in the dark umbra of a sunspot without any traces of light bridges or umbral dots. We used the slit-jaw images and spectroscopic data from I…
A small decaying sunspot was observed with the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) on Tenerife and the Japanese Hinode satellite. We obtained full Stokes scans in several wavelengths covering different heights in the solar atmosphere. Imaging time series from Hinode and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) complete our data sets. The spot is surrounded by a moat flow, which persists also on that side of the spot where the penumbra already had disappeared. Close to the spot, we find a chromospheric location with downflows of more than 10 km/s without photospheric counterpart. The height dependence of …
Fine-scale downflows above flare ribbons captured by Solar Orbiter/EUI
Peking University（北京大学）；National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家空间科学中心）；Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam（波茨坦阿诺德·爱因斯坦天文研究所）；University of Sheffield（谢菲尔德大学）；Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam（波茨坦大学物理与天文学研究所）
Numerical simulations indicate that the filamentation of sunspot penumbrae and the associated systematic outflow (the Evershed effect) are due to convectively driven fluid motions constrained by the inclined magnetic field. We investigate whether these motions, in particular the upflows in the bright filaments and the downflows at their edges can be reliably observed with existing instrumentation. We use a snapshot from a sunspot simulation to calculate 2D maps of synthetic line profiles for the spectral lines Fe\sci 7090.4 Å~ and C\sci 5380.34 Å. The maps are spatially and spectrally degraded…
High resolution spectropolarimetric data obtained by HINODE is used to characterize the small-scale penumbral magnetic field as well as the vertical and horizontal component of the Evershed effect (EE). The results demonstrate that the penumbral velocity field differs significantly from that of the quiet Sun. Morphological studies yield elongated upflow channels in the inner penumbra and round downflows in the outer penumbra. These flows are identified as the sources and the sinks of the EE. Remarkable is the high plasma velocity in these sinks, which is much larger when compared to the quiet …
We present a series of numerical sunspot models addressing the subsurface field and flow structure in up to 16 Mm deep domains covering up to 2 days of temporal evolution. Changes in the photospheric appearance of the sunspots are driven by subsurface flows in several Mm depth. Most of magnetic field is pushed into a downflow vertex of the subsurface convection pattern, while some fraction of the flux separates from the main trunk of the spot. Flux separation in deeper layers is accompanied in the photosphere with light bridge formation in the early stages and formation of pores separating fro…
Context : Penumbrae are an important characteristic of sunspots, whose formation is intricately related to the nature of sub-photospheric magnetic fields. Aims : We study the formation of a penumbra in a decaying sunspot and compare its properties with those seen during the development of a proto-spot. Methods : High-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of active region NOAA 11283 were obtained from the spectro-polarimeter on board Hinode. These were complemented with full-disk filtergrams of continuum intensity, line-of-sight magnetograms, and dopplergrams from the Helioseismic and Mag…
Recent numerical simulations of sunspots suggest that overturning convection is responsible for the existence of penumbral filaments and the Evershed flow, but there is little observational evidence of this process. Here we carry out a spectroscopic search for small-scale convective motions in the penumbra of a sunspot located 5 deg away from the disk center. The position of the spot is very favorable for the detection of overturning downflows at the edges of penumbral filaments. Our analysis is based on measurements of the Fe I 709.0 nm line taken with the Littrow spectrograph of the Swedish …
Aims. We analyse SUMER spectral scans of a large sunspot within active region NOAA 10923, obtained on 14-15 November 2006, to determine the morphology and dynamics of the sunspot atmosphere at different heights/temperatures. Methods: The data analysed here consist of spectroheliograms in the continuum around 142.0 nm and in the Si iv 140.2 nm, O iii 70.3 nm, N iv 76.5 nm, and O iv 79.0 nm spectral lines. Gaussian-fitting of the observed profiles provides line-of-sight velocity and Doppler-width maps. Results: The data show an asymmetric downflow pattern compatible with the presence of the inve…
We study the TR properties above sunspots and the surrounding plage regions, by analyzing several sunspot spectra obtained by SUMER in March 1999 and November 2006. We compare the SUMER spectra observed in the umbra, penumbra, plage, and sunspot plume regions. The Lyman line profiles averaged in each region are presented. For the sunspot observed in 2006, the electron densities, DEM, and filling factors of the TR plasma in the four regions are also investigated. The self-reversals of the Lyman line profiles are almost absent in umbral regions at different locations (heliocentric angle up to $4…
Sunspot light bridges (LBs) exhibit a wide range of short-lived phenomena in the chromosphere and transition region. In contrast, we use here data from the Multi-Application Solar Telescope (MAST), the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), Hinode, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) to analyze the sustained heating over days in an LB in a regular sunspot. Chromospheric temperatures were retrieved from the the MAST Ca II and IRIS Mg II lines by nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium inversions. Line widths, Doppler shifts, and intensities w…
Aims: The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that millimeter wave data can be used to distinguish between various atmospheric models of sunspots, whose temperature structure in the upper photosphere and chromosphere has been the source of some controversy. Methods: We use observations of the temperature contrast (relative to the quiet Sun) above a sunspot umbra at 3.5 mm obtained with the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Array (BIMA), complemented by submm observations from Lindsey & Kopp (1995) and 2 cm observations with the Very Large Array. These are compared with the umbral contrast calculated …
One important feature of sunspots is the presence of light bridges. These structures are elongated and bright (as compared to the umbra) features that seem to be related to the formation and evolution of sunspots. In this work, we studied the long-term evolution and the stratification of different atmospheric parameters of three light bridges formed in the same host sunspot by different mechanisms. To accomplish this, we used data taken with the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph installed at the GREGOR telescope. These data were inverted to infer the physical parameters of the atmosphere where the …
Context. The solar chromosphere and the lower transition region is believed to play a crucial role in the heating of the solar corona. Models that describe the chromosphere (and the lower transition region), accounting for its highly dynamic and structured character are, so far, found to be lacking. This is partly due to the breakdown of complete frequency redistribution in the chromospheric layers and also because of the difficulty in obtaining complete sets of observations that adequately constrain the solar atmosphere at all relevant heights. Aims. We aim to obtain semi-empirical model atmo…
Oscillation properties in two sunspots and two facular regions are studied using Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) data and ground-based observations in the SiI 10827 and HeI 10830 lines. The aim is to study different-frequency spatial distribution characteristics above sunspots and faculae and their dependence on magnetic-field features and to detect the oscillations that reach the corona from the deep photosphere most effectively. We used Fast-Fourier-Transform and frequency filtration of the intensity and Doppler-velocity variations with Morlet wavelet to trace the wave propagating from the …
Oscillations in sunspot umbrae exhibit remarkable differences between the photosphere and chromosphere. We evaluate two competing scenarios proposed for explaining those observations: a chromospheric resonant cavity and waves traveling from the photosphere to upper atmospheric layers. We have employed numerical simulations to analyze the oscillations in both models. They have been compared with observations in the low (Na I D2) and high (He I 10830 Å) chromosphere. The nodes of the resonant cavity can be detected as phase jumps or power dips, although the identification of the latter is not su…
The acoustic resonator is an important model for explaining the three-minute oscillations in the chromosphere above sunspot umbrae. The steep temperature gradients at the photosphere and transition region provide the cavity for the acoustic resonator, which allows waves to be both partially transmitted and partially reflected. In this paper, a new method of estimating the size and temperature profile of the chromospheric cavity above a sunspot umbra is developed. The magnetic field above umbrae is modelled numerically in 1.5D with slow magnetoacoustic wave trains travelling along magnetic fiel…
Three-minute oscillations over sunspot's umbra in AR 11131 were observed simultaneously in UV/EUV emission by SDO/AIA and in radio emission by Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH). We use 24-hours series of SDO and 8-hours series of NoRH observations to study spectral, spatial and temporal variations of pulsations in the 5-9 mHz frequency range at different layers of the solar atmosphere. High spatial and temporal resolution of SDO/AIA in combination with long-duration observations allowed us to trace the variations of the cut-off frequency and spectrum of oscillations across the umbra. We found th…
Using SDO/HMI and SDO/AIA data for sunspot groups of the 24th solar cycle, we analyzed magnetic properties and He II 304 emission in leading and following sunspots separately. Simultaneous examination of umbral magnetic properties and atmospheric characteristics above the umbrae draws on average differences in He II 304 contrast over the umbrae of leading and following spots we discovered earlier for solar cycle 23 sunspot groups based on SOHO data as well as on the hypothetical relationship between contrast asymmetry and magnetic field asymmetry in umbrae. We use a more accurate and faster al…
We present the first high-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of a sunspot at wavelengths of 1.3 mm and 3 mm, obtained during the solar ALMA Science Verification campaign in 2015, and compare them with the predictions of semi-empirical sunspot umbral/penumbral atmosphere models. For the first time millimeter observations of sunspots have resolved umbral/penumbral brightness structure at the chromospheric heights, where the emission at these wavelengths is formed. We find that the sunspot umbra exhibits a radically different appearance at 1.3 mm and 3 mm,…
Various small-scale structures abound in the solar atmosphere above active regions, playing an important role in the dynamics and evolution therein. We report on a new class of small-scale transition region structures in active regions, characterized by strong emissions but extremely narrow Si IV line profiles as found in observations taken with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Tentatively named as Narrow-line-width UV bursts (NUBs), these structures are located above sunspots and comprise of one or multiple compact bright cores at sub-arcsecond scales. We found six NUBs in tw…
We present simultaneous photospheric and chromospheric observations of the trailing sunspot in NOAA 10904, obtained with the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) La Palma, Canary Islands. Time series of high resolution \ion{Ca}{ii}\,$H$ images show transient jet-like structures in sunspot umbrae are elongated, which we call umbral microjets. These jets are directed roughly parallel to nearby penumbral microjets, suggesting that they are aligned with the background magnetic field. In general, first a bright dot-like structure appears, from which a jet later emerges, although some jets appear without a…
$δ$-sunspots are known to be favourable locations for fast and energetic events like flares and CMEs. The photosphere of this type of sunspots has been thoroughly investigated in the past three decades. The atmospheric conditions in the chromosphere are not so well known, however. his study is focused on the chromosphere of a $δ$-sunspot that harbours a series of fan-shaped jets in its penumbra . The aim of this study is to establish the magnetic field topology and the temperature distribution in the presence of jets in the photosphere and the chromosphere. We use data from the Swedish 1-m Sol…
The properties of magnetic fields forming an extended plage region in AR 10953 were investigated. Stokes spectra of the Fe I line pair at 6302 Årecorded by the spectropolarimeter aboard the Hinode satellite were inverted using the SPINOR code. The code performed a 2D spatially coupled inversion on the Stokes spectra, allowing the retrieval of gradients in optical depth within the atmosphere of each pixel, whilst accounting for the effects of the instrument's PSF. Consequently, no magnetic filling factor was needed. The inversion results reveal that plage is composed of magnetic flux concentrat…
High-resolution observations of the solar chromosphere and transition region often reveal surge-like oscillatory activities above sunspot light bridges. These oscillations are often interpreted as intermittent plasma jets produced by quasi-periodic magnetic reconnection. We have analyzed the oscillations above a light bridge in a sunspot using data taken by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). The chromospheric 2796Å~images show surge-like activities above the entire light bridge at any time, forming an oscillating wall. Within the wall we often see that the Mg~{\sc{ii}}~k 2796.35…
The solar transition region (TR), in which above the photosphere the tempera- ture increases rapidly and the density drops dramatically, is believed to play an important role in coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. Long-lasting up-flows are present in the upper TR and interpreted as signatures of mass supply to large coronal loops in the quiet Sun. Coronal bright points (BPs) are local heating phenomena and we found a different Doppler-shift pattern at TR and coronal temperatures in one BP, which might be related to the twisted loop system. The dominant energy loss in the lower TR is t…
We report on a fan-shaped set of high-speed jets above a strongly magnetized light bridge (LB) of a sunspot observed in the H$α$ line. We study the origin, dynamics and thermal properties of the jets using high-resolution imaging spectroscopy in H$α$ from the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope and data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Hinode. The H$α$ jets have lengths of 7-38 Mm, are impulsively accelerated to a speed of $\sim 100$ km/s close to photospheric footpoints in the LB, and exhibit a constant deceleration consistent with solar effective gravity. They are predominantly launched from …
Solar flares are rapid energy release phenomena that appear as bright ribbons in the chromosphere and high-temperature loops in the corona, respectively. Supra-arcade Downflows (SADs) are plasma voids that first come out above the flare loops and then move quickly towards the flare loop top during the decay phase of the flare. In our work, we study 20 SADs appearing in three flares. By differential emission measure (DEM) analysis, we calculate the DEM weighted average temperature and emission measure (EM) of the front region and the main body of SADs. It is found that the temperatures of the S…
We analyse 3-min oscillations of microwave and EUV emission generated at different heights of a sunspot atmosphere, studying the amplitude and frequency modulation of the oscillations, and its relationship with the variation of the spatial structure of the oscillations. High-resolution data obtained with the Nobeyama Radioheliograph, TRACE and SDO/AIA are analysed with the use of the Pixelised Wavelet Filtering and wavelet skeleton techniques. 3-min oscillations in sunspots appear in the form of repetitive trains of the duration 8-20 min (13 min in average). The typical interval between the tr…
We present the results obtained by analyzing high spatial and spectral resolution data of the solar photosphere acquired by the CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter at the Swedish Solar Telescope on 6 August 2011, relevant to a large sunspot with a light bridge (LB) observed in NOAA AR 11263. These data are complemented by simultaneous Hinode Spectropolarimeter (SP) observation in the Fe I 630.15 nm and 630.25 nm lines. The continuum intensity map shows a discontinuity of the radial distribution of the penumbral filaments in correspondence with the LB, which shows a dark lane (about 0.3" wide and …
We present observations of persistent oscillations of some bright features in the upper-chromosphere/transition-region above sunspots taken by IRIS SJ 1400 Å and upward propagating quasi-periodic disturbances along coronal loops rooted in the same region taken by AIA 171 Å passband. The oscillations of the features are cyclic oscillatory motions without any obvious damping. The amplitudes of the spatial displacements of the oscillations are about 1 $^{"}$. The apparent velocities of the oscillations are comparable to the sound speed in the chromosphere, but the upward motions are slightly larg…
Evidence is beginning to be put forward that demonstrates the role of the chromosphere in supplying energy and mass to the corona. We aim to assess the role of chromospheric jets in active region dynamics. Using a combination of the Hinode/SOT Ca II H and TRACE 1550 Å and 1600 Å filters we examine chromospheric jets situated at the edge of a sunspot. Analysis reveals a near continuous series of jets, that raise chromospheric material into the low corona above a sunspot. The jets have average rise speeds of 30 km\,s^{-1} and a range of 10-100km\,s^{-1}. Enhanced emission observed at the jets le…
